I rly need advice with my island please 🥺

[applesauc3]

I can’t stand my map... I don’t know what to do. My island just feels so small and I have no clue what to do to make it more spacious and coherent. I don’t want to restart the game because I’ve come this far, so I’m thinking of just completely re-terraforming my whole island. I need some help and some advice.

The only thing I like the placement of the museum (essentially bottom left corner near entrance I like)... but everything else I DESPISE.
Should I move the neighbourhood elsewhere? And make it one big one? Or should that stay there?
How can I make it more pulled together? I can’t stand these rivers but I don’t want to patch over where they naturally start.

IM OPEN TO MOVING EVERYTHING PLEASE BESTOW YOUR WIDSOMS

 

[rezberri]

i think that ur map is fine!! it's hard to rly get a feel for what the issue ur having is without actually seeing the areas. maybe u could introduce more bridges but u said ur having problems with ur rivers so that may not be a good idea. maybe u could browse this map thread's most recent pages to see how people r making their rivers. ive seen ppl make 1x1 land pieces in rivers to serve as stepping stones to quickly get across a river if there's no bridge present.

 

[Bk1234]

I actually like the way it looks! If it isn't a hassle though I would connect the top "pond" to the river on the right.

 

[Weiss Schnee]

A good tip on making my island more spacious feeling was to leave about half of it kinda 'wild'. No development no paths, just trees and nature with weeds and flowers everywhere. I put my villagers in a small neighborhood and modernized it. If you'd like you could come visit and see what I mean?

Edit! Just saw it was you Applesauc3 lol

 

[Porxelain]

Maybe connect those rivers with a perfect slant so it’s a nice triangle in the bottom corner then that’ll open up all the area that is being taken up by them currently.

 

[aloherna]

I was having the same issue with space so I made a corner of the map one neighborhood instead of having different ones and I removed cliffs and made almost everything one level then from there I added the second or third levels where I felt I wanted them but doing that allowed me to see how much space I had and sort of imagine what I wanted to do with it.

 

[*The Oakboro Mayor*]

It looks like the pond-type thing behind your shops is really large, something that might help maximize space could be to cut down and terraform it to be smaller. Also, how does it feel small? Does it feel cramped, or are there just too many things all over the place that you want to change?

 

[lulu9956]

I had a similar problem where I felt I was lacking space, and I honestly just destroyed most of my river haha. Not a solution for everyone obviously, but it worked well for me

 

[Bek]

Since you don't like the rivers you could thin it down and make them smaller? Maybe seeing other's maps might help?

 

[sleepydreepy]

Overall, I've found that its best to terraform in sections. This makes it way less overwhelming and easier to finish designing areas.

Going into more detail, I think you should sit down and think about a theme for your island. For example, for my island I wanted it to essentially be my "personal oasis" and wanted it to have an overall tropical island theme. I then chose a general color pallet and waited until I got the game before deciding anything else. Once I unlocked terraforming I then sat down again and brainstormed cool area ideas. Right now my island has a public beach, lighthouse hill, stalls for Redd and his merch, a large fishing dock, luau stage, bike trail, national park, ancient ruins, dig site, etc. List areas that you want on your island and then think about where on your map you want them to go. I also recommend spreading out your neighborhood, this makes your island feel bigger! On my island I have 4 separate neighborhoods with different themes, which was really fun to design! Each neighborhood has at least two residents. You can check out my island journal in my signature to take a peak at my map and island pictures.

Again, the most important thing I would suggest is having a theme which can be literally anything! This makes your island feel more coherent and makes it easier for coming up with different area ideas.

Let me know if you need anymore help!

 

[applesauc3]

It looks like the pond-type thing behind your shops is really large, something that might help maximize space could be to cut down and terraform it to be smaller. Also, how does it feel small? Does it feel cramped, or are there just too many things all over the place that you want to change?

It just feels like all the free space is little weird spaces instead of open space to make cool areas! I just started terraforming the rivers to move them around.

 

[Uffe]

Honestly, this is a fine looking map. I'm curious as to how much space you've given between the houses sitting next to each other.

 

[Hobowire]

i like it.. the villager's houses are perfectly lined...... this makes me so happy!

 

[Bluebellie]

I would maybe move the four houses on the right with the rest of them all together. I would also try to connect the rivers.

 

[Romaki]

Luckily your island is perfectly fine, and because I'm bored I'll help you break it down for you.

Spoiler: First, you have your entry and your town hall.

Both are in a good spot because you can make a little area out of them. You'll meet your visitors there and you'll go from the town hall to the airport when you're flying for NMT or other special events that have to be started with a conversation. You could also make this an event area overall, like a nice open space in case you want to invite people for meteor showers. A pond for the fishing tournament. A spot to exchange DIY and do trades. Your museum is close and you seem to want to make an innercity of sorts of the left down corner. The hill and the museum seem like good spots, but just looking at the map I think you can add more to it. Maybe a smaller hill on there, round corners, more paths. Maybe also a pond area. But of course the museum doesn't have to be there, you just need a place for everything else.

Spoiler: Rivers

You already disconnected them which can give you more room to play. Maybe you'd prefer a more elaborate complete river? Once you disconnect them, don't be too afraid to remove a lot more. We don't actually that much river anyway, try something new out and test it.

Spoiler: Neighborhood

I think your secret beach and your peninsula work pretty well with a potential neighborhood area. You could also dig out so that one of the rivers goes right up to the secret beach and you can place a nice bridge inbetween those areas for example. Your house can be on the beach or peninsula for example, but it would also suit above the river outlet.

I really like your idea of the campsite being near to the dock, because it makes so much sense. I've been searching for an idea for mine and I think I might just steal that position and make it into a second entrance.

Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about it. But knows what's to come. I think your map just needs more stuff on it, but it's a good start so far. I think your map is just too square in many parts. Just try to change things up and make them more natural, and more imperfect.

 

[GEEBRASS]

I strongly recommend slowly moving your buildings to the beach so that you open up space to work with and can more clearly come up with some ideas for what you'd like, then start terraforming and slowly implement your buildings back into the map once you're satisfied with an area. I am in the midst of doing this myself right now. I don't time travel, which can be a bit frustrating, but also gives me plenty of time to think and experiment without pressuring myself to come up with the right answers right away. I use custom design tiles to mark the borders of where I might want buildings to go, which helps a lot with visualizing and terraforming.

 

[Romaki]

You could also do this but with a banana:

 

[Etown20]

Not sure if this is accurate, but it seems to me villagers use their yards/outdoor furniture more if they are in front of their house (instead of at the side), so if you are looking to shake things up, that is one thing you could try!

 

[Deliquate]

One weird tip is that dividing up big swaths of land into smaller sections--and shrinking areas that you've already designed to make them denser and more compact--will make your island feel bigger.

 

[Bek]

Figured I'd share my map in case it'd help. I had really wide rivers and just thinned mine down by quite a bit while trying to keep a few wider areas to fish. (I made many spots jumpable)